This work, in four juan, is also called Wu sao he bian (A combined collection of Sao songs from the Wu area). It was compiled by Zhang Chushu and Zhang Xuchu of the late Ming. Zhang Chushu of Wulin (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), named Qi, style names Saoyin Jushi and Baixuezhai Zhuren, was skilled in ci and qu poetry. Zhang Xuchu, style names Banling Daoren and Lingqiao, was Zhang Chushu’s younger brother. The work contains prefaces by the Zhangs, Chen Jiru, and Xu Dangshi. It was printed during the years ...

This is a work on timekeeping and the determination of the direction of prayer (qibla), particularly intended for people who travel. The author, Abu al-‛Abbās Shihāb al-Dīn Ahmad b. Zayn al-Dīn Rajab b. Tubayghā al-Atābakī, known as al-Majdī or Ibn al-Majdī (1366-1447 [767-850 A.H.]), was descended from a powerful family with ties to Mamlūk rulers and was a renowned and prominent mathematician, geometrician, and astronomer. He served as the timekeeper of the Al-Azhar Mosque. This work is an abridgment of his other major book, Irshād al-ḥā’ir ilā ...

Tiangong kaiwu (Exploitation of the works of nature), an integrated work on agriculture and handicrafts, is one of the most important works on science and technology in the history of China. A European scholar has called it a 17th-century version of the Denis Diderot's Encyclopédie published in France in the 18th century. The author was the noted Ming dynasty scientist Song Yingxing. While working as an instructor in Fenyi County in Jiangxi province, he researched agricultural and artisanal technology, which he then organized into a book. This work was ...